This is the story of my walk as a Christian, a desire to live godly and to live in righteous service to God, but a sensation of spinning my wheels in hopeless effort. It's like I daily strive for something I can never attain, which in some ways is reality.  But, I know that through Christ's strength, I have the option and ability to 'not sin', yet so often I choose the sinful path and hate myself for it.  This inner battle is sometimes exhausting. I desire, yet never reach the goal.

Today I prayed that the Lord would renew my mind as I read His Word, and I ended up at this passage of Scripture.

"Desire realized is sweet to the soul, but it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil." (Proverbs 13:19)

Truly, according to this passage, even the desire to 'turn away from evil' is sweet to the soul.  I am thankful that God has placed that desire in my heart, knowing that someday, when I'm living in a glorified body in heaven, I will finally have reached the upward goal for which  I have been striving all these years. I will have finally 'turned away from evil' for good.

This passage encourages me because it reminds me I'm not a fool.  Some days I feel like one, but if I were a fool, then I would be sickened and repulsed by the mere thought of repentance.

Thank You Lord for placing a desire for Yourself in my heart, and for leading me onward, pressing toward the goal. I pray that You would daily grant repentance and lead me away from evil desires and toward Yourself.  Thank you for giving me the desire to continue pressing toward righteousness, no matter how frustrating the fight against my sinful flesh. Thank You for Your Word that holds me accountable, renews my mind, strengthens my faith, encourages my heart, heals my soul. I love Your Word, Lord.

"Then Pilate said to Him, 'Do You not hear how many things they testify against You?' And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed." (Matthew 27:13-14)

It has always bothered me to read these verses, seeing that Jesus didn't stand up for Himself against the lies that were being told about Him.  Just now, reading this passage for probably the 200th time, it hit me that it would have been pointless to do so.  Jesus was in the process of taking on the sins of man...paying the debt they owed to the Father.  He was going through punishment, heading toward a bloody cross,  taking the full weight of God's wrath against millions of sins He never committed. 

Jesus was innocent, yet went to the cross for my sins...and yours, if you're His. He was counted as guilty for my sins so that I could be counted as righteous in Him.

Now it makes sense to me why He didn't deny the charges.  He was doing the perfect will of the Father and was perfectly willing to do so.

"For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.  As you have done, it will be done to you.  Your dealings will return on your own head."  (Obadiah 15)

This passage makes me so thankful for Jesus; for the love with which He paid for my sins, taking them from my head to His own that I may be dealt with in grace and mercy rather than justice, which I so deserve.  My dealings were that thorny crown which He wore so willingly.  All the ugliness of my sin a mass of jagged barbs driven into His brow.

Thank you Father for sending Your Son.  Thank You Jesus for Your perfect obedience to the  Father's call.  Thank You Spirit for giving blessed encouragement from Obadiah today.

"I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry. 
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will see and fear
And will trust in the LORD. "   (Psalm 40:1-3)


My Pastor preached this text on Sunday.  I've read it a hundred times, but never seen in it the patience of Christ, a picture of which Pastor Sabella so eloquently painted in his sermon.  I have seen, in this text, the love and faithfulness of the Father, who heard His Son's cry and answered.  I've seen the vindication that was promised and brought to pass on Christ's behalf by His Father.  But, those first 6 words are powerful and telling.  When did vindication come?  Even for Christ, it came after patient waiting on God.  Should vindication come any sooner for me? May it never be!

So, why was Christ able to wait so patiently on His Father to 'make things right', to bring about the promised vindication and glory?  Also, why am I unable to wait patiently for God to hear my cry?  If you had asked me these questions a week ago, I would have answered, "Because He's God, and I'm sinful flesh!"  That is true, but only half the answer.  Jesus was patient -- is patient -- because He KNOWS His Father's promises, and He has perfect faith and trust that His Father will bring them to pass.  Jesus'  faith, and our faith too, is rooted deeply in the knowledge of God's promises and trust in God to bring them to fruition perfectly in space & time..  When we fail to know God's promises, and fail to trust His ability to fulfill them, then we cannot wait with any sort of patience.  In fact, we do the opposite.  We fret, worry, cry, feel sorry for ourselves, pout, even get angry. 

While Jesus has complete knowledge of the Word, "the Word" is also one of His names.  This is because He embodies the promises of God.  Of course, He also embodies the perfect holiness, justice, goodness, truth, sovereignty, mercy, grace (and much more) of God.  Back to the promises though ... many of those promises are yes and amen in the very person of Christ.  "For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us."  (2 Corinthians 1:20)  As a believer, I have alien faith and righteousness.  My faith and righteousness come from none other than Jesus Christ.  Therefore, I can look to the patience of my Saviour as the perfect example.  As His patience was rooted in His Father's promises and sovereign goodness, mine must be as well. 

Simply enduring trials will not prove to increase my patience.  On the contrary, my faith (and therefore patience) will surely increase when, through the trials of life I'm drawn by the Holy Spirit into the Word, where God's promises are written.  Then, as I internalize the promises therein, and see His faithfulness to bring them to pass on behalf of many who walked in faith before me, I gain a more firmly rooted trust in God's sovereign goodness.  I know, trust, and can therefore wait paiently. 

Patience is the fruit born of trust.  As my Pastor said, "Patience is casting oneself onto the promises of God in faith."

When God grants that we wait patiently on Him, and He proves faithful to His promises to us, two things happen, according to v. 3.  First, we are given a new song of praise to sing to the Father in response to His faithfulness.  Second, others see our patience followed by God's action, which brings about fear in their hearts.  Since fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, that fear brings forth the fruit of trust in the Lord.  Hallelujah!  [Conversely, I despair to think what happens in the hearts of onlookers when I fail to wait patiently on my God.  Praise God that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus! (Romans 8:1)  Otherwise I would wallow in despair over my unfaithfulness.]

Oh Lord!  Thank you for revealing these beautiful truths to my heart!  Thank you for my Pastor who has shone a light (an Elzetta light, that is...) on this text for my encouragement, and that of others as well.  Please draw me ever deeper into Your Word, that I may drink of Your rich promises and grow to trust You so perfectly that I may wait...patiently as my Christ did.  Oh, to sing in chorus with Him that song of praise to You!

1 Corinthians 10:14-22
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.  I speak as to wise men; you judge what I say.  Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?  Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ?  Since there is one bread, we who are many are one body; for we all partake of the one bread.  Look at the nation Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices sharers in the altar?  What do I mean then?  That a thing sacrificed to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?  No, but I say that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become sharers in demons.  You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons.  Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy?  We are not stronger than He, are we?"

This was the passage my Pastor preached this past Sunday.  I have to say that it was a very impactful sermon and my heart was pierced as the Holy Spirit brought conviction and grief over my sin.  I wanted to share a couple of things God weighed upon me from this sermon, which continue to fill my mind and heart with conviction and encouragement.  May Christ strengthen His people to truly flee this deadly sin of idolatry!

* We should avoid idolatry at all costs!  God must be pre-eminent over every concern, every interest, every person, and every commitment in our lives.

* "God plays second fiddle to no one or nothing."  (Pastor Sabella)

* We should pray that our New Year is one in which we love God as never before!  We should pray that He enables us to give Him our utmost loyalty.  We should evaluate our lives and hearts and ponder whom or what we value most.

* "To neglect the church is to neglect Christ!"  (Pastor Sabella)

* If we seek to please men rather than to please God, then we are guilty of idolatry.  This brings to mind Colossians 3:23-24, which says, "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance.  It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

* The word flee has the connotation of running as fast and as far as possible in the opposite direction from some danger or threat.  I should apply this to idolatry.  When I see my heart bending toward serving or treasuring some earthly thing, activity, or even person -- I should, in my heart (and if necessary, physically), run as far and as quickly as possible in the opposite direction.  The opposite direction would be toward serving and treasuring Christ alone, toward His Word, toward His church.

* "When believers take the Lord's Supper, they partake of the substance behind the symbolology."  (Pastor Sabella)

* To adore anything or anyone more than we adore Christ is idolatry -- and demonic!

* You cannot possibly give God His due worship if your heart is even the least bit bowed to any idol.

* Idolatry is deadly and will suck the joy out of you if you fail to flee from it.  "Tear down your idols while there's still hope!"  (Pastor Sabella)

*Practicing idolatry invites God's jealous discipline.  Don't pick a fight with the Supremely Sovereign God of the Universe because He will always prove Himself stronger!  He is fearsome!  He is mighty!

*  God has purchased my soul and defined His territory.  He will protect me as His own -- even against myself and my own weak flesh.  Whoah!

* If I fail to flee from idolatry, I'm dabbling in the table of demons.

*  I can rejoice that victory has been won!  Christ already hung on the cross to pay for my sin of idolatry, therefore it is possible to live victorious over that sin.  He has conquered my adversaries, particularly the adversary which is my sinful flesh.  Idolatry has been defeated on my behalf, by the Savior Jesus Christ!  Glory!

I received the most uplifting and encouraging comment from a gentleman today and had to share something that popped to my mind.  The purpose of the "Wisdom from the Word -- Thinking Christianly"  blog has always been to share the glory of Christ and seek to magnify His name to people all over the world.  That's the beauty of  blogs and the internet, we have access to not only our brethren all over the globe, but to the lost as well.  I pray that God will use this blog not only to explore the Scriptures and discuss Biblical living, but to open the eyes of the blind and soften the hardest of hearts, granting blessed repentance and faith in the hearts of His people, wherever they may be.  

To any who have followed this blog over the past couple of years, I apologize for the huge gaps of time between entries.  I could make excuses as to why I've not kept up, but they would focus on "me", which would be wrong.  May all the attention and glory and honor go to Him who created and sustains all things! 

Love to all of you in the blessed name of Christ Jesus, the risen and exalted Lord of all!

In reading Leviticus 14:33-57, I've always been very confused and unable to figure out what God was teaching me through this passage.  I'd never heard of a house being infected with leprosy and the whole concept seemed so strange to me.  God revealed some parallels in the text recently that make a lot of sense to my mind and seem to fit within a systematic theology.  I just wanted to share a few things and would love to hear what others think on this passage as I continue to study it and pray for revelation from God.  If you've not recently read this passage, you may want to look over it before proceeding through this blog.  It's far to long for me to quote here.  Throughout the passage, I will discuss how leprosy represents sin, how God deals with sin, and how He is sovereign over it, though not responsible for it.

v. 34  In the very beginning of the text, God places the 'mark of leprosy' on the house.  We know that even though God does not commit sin Himself, there is much reference throughout Scripture to the fact that God ordains that sin take place and even hands certain people over to increased sinfulness.  Examples of this would be in the beginning when God ordained that Adam and Eve sin so that He might glorify Himself by sending Jesus to die on behalf of His elect.  We know it was ordained because Jesus is called the "Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world".  His death was planned from the beginning and would have never been necessary without sin having entered in the garden.  Also, in Romans 1, God hands people over to gross sins because they worship creation rather than Him as Creator.

I'm seeing the house in this passage as representing the church.  From that foundational premise, it would be logical to assign the home-owner as the Pastor, the Priest as Jesus, and the leprosy as sin.  In v. 35, the owner of the house (Pastor) comes to the Priest (Jesus) to let him know that there is a visible infection of leprosy (sin) in the house.   The Priest (Jesus) quarantines the house for 7 days to see if the infection will go away.  This could be Jesus giving time for repentance on the part of the sinner(s) in the church.   In v. 39, after the time for repentance has been allowed, if the infection is still present, the infected stones were to be removed.  We know from 1 Peter 2:4 that Christians are referred to as 'living stones' which make up the church.  We also know that false converts are to be removed from the church according to 1 Cor. 5:11-13.   So, this removal of infected stones, I believe, is the removal of false converts or 'so-called brethren' who have crept into the church and disguised themselves as sheep, bringing with them a deadly and contagious infection. 

In v. 41, the Priest (Jesus) orders the owner (Pastor) of the house to scrape the inside of the house and then replaster it.  This could represent the Pastor's open reproof and/or rebuke (scraping) to the church about the sin which was present and the Scriptural teaching (replastering) which would edify and build up, guiding the members away from such sin and toward righteous, holy living. Also, in v. 42, there are new stones brought in to replace the ones which were removed.  This could be  new members that God has added to the congregation...new "living stones", if you will. 

According to v. 44-46, if the malignancy (sin) still infected the church after all these measures had been taken, the house (church) was to be torn down.  "As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands:  the seven stars are the angels (preachers) of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches...Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand (church) out of its place -- unless you repent."  (Revelation 1:20 and 2:5)  If a church refuses to submit to the godly leadership of the Pastor and refuses to submit to Christ in repentance, that church will be removed by Jesus Himself.  In v. 46, there is a warning that anyone who enters the house full of leprosy (sin) will be infected and unclean themselves.  We know this is true, because bad company corrupts good morals, according to 1 Cor. 15:33. 

But, glory be to God, if the church responds to the purge of infected stones (church members), scraping (reproof and rebuke), and replastering (Biblical teaching) with repentance and holy living, then the Priest (Jesus) pronounces it clean!  Hallelujah!  The house (church) is then cleansed with 2 birds, cedarwood, a scarlet string, and hyssop.  The house (church) is "sprinkled" with the hyssop and cedar wood dipped in the bird's blood and running water, just as we are washed by Jesus' blood and regenerated by the Holy Spirit (living water).  This brings to mind Hebrews 10:21-22, which says, "Since we have a great Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water."

We are told in v. 54-57 that this process should be performed for any kind of infection: leprous garment or house, swelling, scab, or bright spot (which could represent a variety of kinds of sin that could infect a house [or church]).  We are also admonished to be subject to teaching on these things so that we know the protocol for dealing with sin. 

We, as the church, are to be members of a local body of believers, in submission to a loving, caring, and obedient Pastor who is aware of our sins.  He is to hold us accountable, evaluating our behavior and words so that He is able to reprove and rebuke when needed, or even remove us if we prove to be false converts.  Sadly, there are many houses (churches) that are infected with leprosy (sin) and there is no loving owner (Pastor) who is willing to take the concern to the Priest (Jesus) and to deal with it according to the law of leprosy (Biblically).  This is why we have hundreds of churches bearing false witness of Christ to the world.  This is why our nation doesn't have any comprehension of what a real "Christian" looks like.  I fear that many lampstands (churches) need removing in this country and wonder when our Priest (Jesus) will come and take them away. 

Oh God, I don't want to be a stone in an infected house that needs to be removed.  Lord, grant me persevering faith, that I may be a repentant living stone in a house that brings you much glory.  Please bring our family to a church where we may be shepherded Biblically, where the infection of leprosy is scraped and replastered,  and where infected stones (unbelievers) are removed for the sake and preservation of the other stones (believers).  As we search for a church home, I pray that You would bring us to such a place.  May that kind of bold leadership be sought alongside solid, exegetical preaching of Scripture and a loving, Christ-exalting body of believers.

I was studying through Luke 22 this morning and came to v. 24 which says, "And there arose also a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be the greatest."  At first, I was just stunned that they would sit there in the presence of Christ and pridefully argue with eachother about their own greatness.  Then, as I chewed on it a bit, my heart was deeply convicted.

This time, in Luke 22:24, the context is at the Passover supper when Jesus brought to their attention that one of them would betray Him.  They sat right in His presence and argued with one another over who was greatest.  Sadly, this isn't the first time the disciples have argued over who was greatest among them.  We read of it also in Luke 9:46, "An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest." The context here is just after Jesus was transfigured and He teaches them that being greatest means being least.  We also see a similar theme in Mark 9:33-34, just after Jesus had told them that He would be delivered over, killed, and resurrected.  They walked to meet with Jesus, who was in the house at Capernaum, and as they walked, they discussed who was the greatest among them.  As they entered the house, He began questioning them, asking what they had been discussing as they walked.  In this instance, they were rightly ashamed of the fact that they had been discussing which of them was the greatest -- and they kept quiet.  However, Jesus knew their hearts and taught them that they must be servant of all in order to achieve greatness.  It is duly noted that He did not condemn their desire to achieve greatness.  He corrected their view on how it would be acheived.

I admit that I tend to be a bit hard on the disciples, thinking how on earth could they be so self-centered in the presence of Christ?  How could they listen to Him and walk with Him, yet be concerned about their own personal greatness?  How could they hear Him predict his death and resurrection, and immediately think about how awesome they were? Hello!  You're looking in the face of God, guys!  He's the only great one!

In truth, all of us do this on a daily basis, don't we?  I confess that I see this in myself and am deeply grieved that my heart leans this way.  In the presence of Christ, I daily think about how other people need to work on certain areas of sin in their lives.  I think about how they continue in the same sin, because that particular sin may stand out to me.  All along, though, I myself am struggling with a long list of sins that are equally displeasing to my God.  The fact that my mind focuses on the sin of others proves that my wicked heart thinks that I am greater than my sister or brother.  My thoughts about their sin are truly arguments within my heart over whether I am greater than they in the sight of God.  Don't we all do this?  

Should I really be so hard on the disciples?  The disciples really missed the boat on a number of occasions, but don't I do the same thing?  Don't you? The fact that the disciples could sit at the passover table with Jesus in their midst and argue over who was greatest among them is shocking to me.  But shouldn't it be equally shocking that I sit in the "privacy" of my home, which is in the presence of God, and argue in my mind over who is greatest.  Woe to me!  Woe to you!  You do it too. 

Lord, please change my wicked heart and help me follow Your teaching -- that to achieve greatness, I must be the servant of all and the least among my brethren.

"And He said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called Benefactors.  But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant.  For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves?  Is it not the one who reclines at the table?  But I am among you as the one who serves.' "  Luke 22:25-27

"Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, 'If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.' "  Mark 9:35

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit.  You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good?  For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.  The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil.  But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.  For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."  (Matthew 12:33-37)

This was the passage in focus at our last Ladies' Night meeting for July. I just want to share a couple of the tidbits that we meditated upon during our study.  It was definitely a time of deep conviction and repentance as I prepared to teach on this text. I pray that your heart is uplifted and changed as was mine through studying this passage of Scripture.

In this passage, Jesus addressed a group of unredeemed sinners, namely the Pharisees.  All the truths he spoke to them are profitable for rebuke, reproof, and sound teaching for my heart and the hearts of all Christians.  Jesus told these Pharisees that they were the offspring of a venemous snake, namely Satan...and because their hearts were evil, they were incapable of speaking any good words.  Jesus told them that their mouths were a vent for the overflow of that which was super-abundant in their hearts.  He also told them that all men have a storehouse inside them -- a precious deposit filled with that which they treasure.  For evil men, their treasure was rotten, putrid, vile -- so that which flowed out of them was the same.  For the 'good' man, His treasure was good and beautiful -- so his overflow was just that -- good and beautiful.  Jesus also made clear to these wicked men that they would stand accountable on judgment day for every 'idle' word they'd ever spoken and that these very words would either justify or condemn them.  

As a follower of Christ, this text made me look at my heart and evaluate the words that proceed from my mouth -- or the fruit which is borne on my tree.  It drove me to ask myself questions like, 

        "Do my words reflect Christ who lives within me?"  
        "What is in my storehouse filled with...what (or who) is my precious deposit?" 
        "Do I purposefully employ my words for the edification of my brethren and the glory of Christ?"
        "What about the thoughts that run through my mind...those are words, since we as speaking beings think in words, not abstractly.  Do these words in my mind reflect Christ or the world in which I live?"
        "Are many of my words 'idle' (of no benefit to anyone or the kingdom of God)?"
        "Do I thoughtfully consider the implications and ramifications of my words before they come forth from my mouth?  Am I sifting them through Scripture?"
        "If a non-Christian were listening to me talk, would they have any idea that Christ is my highest treasure...and if not, then is He really as highly treasured as I claim He is in my heart?"
        "What do my words testify about my walk with Christ?"


Of course, God uses His Word to bring conviction in the hearts of believers, that they continually be changed and sanctified in their walk with Christ. Passages such as this drive us to our knees, reminding us that we need a Savior every minute of every day.  Texts such as this bring to our memory that every idle word spoken, every evil thought that darts across our minds, every conversation that revolves around worldly rather than godly matters has been nailed to the cross.  I know that I have many times spoken words that had no kingdom purpose.  I have certainly thought things too evil to mention.  For these I repent before God and beg Him to change my heart so that every word which passes from my lips or darts through my mind may be edifiying to brethren, glorifying to Christ, and a beacon for unsaved persons - leading them to the cross where Jesus died. 

This text also reminds me that as a mother, I have a unique and beautiful opportunity to fill my son's storehouse with the precious deposit of godly teaching, Scripture memory, and a Biblical worldview that may all help him to walk with Christ.  As parents, even if God does not choose to save our children, we are called to do this ministry as unto the Lord.  A storehouse filled with godly things will be profitable for our kids, whether or not God saves them.  Of course, we pray that God does redeem them and by our teaching, they will then have a firm foundation on which to build.  We pray that they will be used mightily for and by the Lord.

"Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear."  (Ephesians 4:29)

"Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person."  (Colossians 4:6)

Today, I was blessed to hear an awesome sermon on Mark 9:14-32, in which my pastor pulled out many beautiful truths about Christ's power and deity and the continued lack of faith shown in the disciples.  I will not use this blog to go over all the points he made in his sermon, though they were all awesome.  Hopefully this sermon, which I would recommend, will eventually be available on the church website at the following link: http://provcommunity.org/pages/htmlos/00958.3.1613955208332642443/providence/resources.html-
RESOURCES-SERMONS-?

As I was combing through the passage last night in preparation for this morning's sermon, God illumined 2 details that transformed the text for me.  They were rather simple points that many would have noticed perhaps on a first read, but I'm a little slow sometimes so you'll have to forgive me. I was blessed by studying through this passage last night and pray that you will be blessed as well as you read this blog.

(Please keep in mind, I don't claim to be an authority on Scripture.  I don't have a seminary education and I've never heard anyone else say some of the things I'm about to write.  Please don't think I'm being dogmatic or insisting that what I'm saying is absolutely correct.  I just want to share what God showed me as I studied the text, while always being totally accountable to my brethren and open to any commentary someone may want to offer if I've suggested anything erroneous.) 

    1. In v. 20, the demon inside the boy, once he set his eyes on Christ, immediately fell to the ground, rolling around and convulsing - foaming at the mouth.  What jumped out here was the demon's quick move into a position of submission to the authority of Christ, even though he rolled about and thrashed to show his hatred of Jesus' control over him, he did immediately fall to the ground taking a low place in the presence of the Holy God of the Universe.  Truly, all demons and even the devil himself are aware of the Lordship of Christ.  They know He is God and they are scared.  They rightly fear the Lord, yet do so while hating His righteousness, purity, holiness, mercy, compassion, etc.  They recognize Him, fear Him, know His power over them, but hate Him all the while.

"You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder."  James 2:19

    2. In v. 25, Jesus called the spirit "you deaf and mute spirit".  I wonder if this had anything to do with why the disciples were unable to cast out this demon?  Sounds wierd, but bear with me for a minute.  Throughout the disciples' walk with Jesus, did they not cast out many demons in the name of Christ, by His power?  Certainly there were instances where they commanded demons to come out and the demons obeyed.  In fact, Mark 6:12-13 says, "They (disciples) went out and preached that men should repent.  And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them."   So, it doesn't seem to be that the disciples suddenly lost their gift or God-given ability to cast out demons. It may have been that they lost their focus and tried to cast out this demon in their own strength.  This is very possible.  But, it seems to me that this particular demon was somehow different than all the rest of the evil spirits the disciples had encountered in the past.  Just how was this spirit different?  I think the answer to this question is in Jesus' statement in v. 29.  He says, "This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer."  Well, what kind of demon was it? 

In v. 25, Jesus called it  "you mute and deaf spirit".  We know from reading through the entire passage that the father of the boy in v. 17 alluded to the fact that the demon "made his son mute".  Note, the boy was not mute, the demon was making him so.  However, Jesus knew, because He's God, that this spirit was also deaf.  So, could this "mute and deaf spirit" hear the disciples' commands to leave the boy, even if they were commanding it in the name of Jesus?  My guess is, no.  I'd suggest that Jesus' command to the spirit completely transcended the language barrier because He alone has the unique ability to speak things into being!  We know that Jesus spoke and the foundations of the world were laid.  Truly we see throughout Scripture that Jesus is not bound by language, audability, or comprehension.  Jesus just makes things happen.  Humans, and apparently spirits, are however bound thus - completely limited to communication by means of intelligible words and sounds, which would be completely useless if speaking to a deaf and mute being, whether human or spirit. 

Though Christ's disciples were given the gift of healing and casting out demons, there were some limits to their abilities.  They healed and exorcised in the name of God, but were not God themselves. They were not able to transcend this communication barrier with the "deaf and mute spirit".  Jesus' instruction in v. 29 tells them that in this instance, with this kind of demon, they needed to pray to Him so that He could "give the command" that would transcend the barrier they were up against.  "He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, 'You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again.'" Mark 9:25b  "Praying", on the part of the disciples, would have been as effective as as "bringing the boy to Jesus" as referenced in v. 19.